


What Should Have Been Said

by wh33zy



Series: Of Tigers and Bunnies [16]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Arguing, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, but that's on you to squint bby, this can be a slash fic if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25889176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wh33zy/pseuds/wh33zy
Summary: This takes place right after the events of The Rising. Barnaby and Kotetsu finally talk (and argue) about everything that happened and come to an agreement.
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr. & Kaburagi T. Kotetsu, Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu
Series: Of Tigers and Bunnies [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1332236
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	What Should Have Been Said

They hadn’t planned to talk, and really they should have, but since they’re both so bad at this whole discussing feelings thing,  _ so  _ bad that work became a nightmare, it wasn’t a surprise. The moment they reunited was great, sealed the deal and everything. However, it didn’t fully express all the things that  _ should  _ have been said but weren’t for whatever reason. In the back of their minds ‘the talk’ was coming, inevitable in one way or another, but why have it now? When there’s fun and celebration going on, why kill the mood? 

“Hey, you there, escaping parties is  _ my  _ thing. Get your own bad habit.” Kotetsu jokingly accuses Barnaby, meeting him at the railing of the balcony, the same one from years ago during the MVP party. “What’re you doing out here? Everybody misses you.” Mainly he did, since the older man is left to fend for himself at a company party which is  _ too much  _ but also, “You okay?” 

Barnaby can’t help but smile a little at the sweetness of it all. “I get how you feel about these things now.” He says, his tone softer with his gaze still set out at the bustling city nightlife before him. “I’m a little overwhelmed, that’s all.” 

“Oh, I see.” Kotetsu mumbles, a warm summer breeze going by doing nothing to calm the sudden onslaught of anxiety. He rubs the back of his neck as he prepares himself to say quietly, “I’m sorry.”

It’s  _ so  _ genuine,  _ full  _ of worries and regrets- which, from Barnaby’s perspective,  _ sucks  _ because he should have known that Kotetsu would shoulder all of the blame for everything that happened. He's just that type of guy; one who’ll take all the credit for the bad but not for the good. The younger man  _ hated  _ that, because his partner is already  _ so  _ unreasonably hard on himself. 

Barnaby releases a sigh, turning his body to really look at him and ask, “For what?” 

Kotetsu looks at him like he’s  _ crazy, _ wondering if he bothered to remember why Golden Ryan was here in the first place. “For  _ everything!  _ The contract and...” Barnaby’s silence is what allows him to continue. “I mean, it’s not  _ just  _ you or  _ just  _ me- that contract is  _ us.  _ It’s  _ our  _ contract and I should’ve talked to you first before signing off on our partnership, but-” 

_ “Come on, _ you  _ knew  _ I would have said no to switching partners.” And when the older man continues to look downwards, still all sullen as he shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, “Right?” 

“With everything you were saying and how you felt about being in the second league...I wasn’t so sure anymore to be honest with you.” Obviously getting more and more uncomfortable as this conversation went on, his shoulders tense up slightly. 

Realizing he kind of dug his own grave, “I was just getting frustrated in that moment, I didn’t mean for it to come off as me being frustrated with  _ you  _ or putting down the second league-”

“I understood _ that!  _ It’s why I did it!” Kotetsu exclaims, almost sounding exasperated. 

Quietly, “What?” 

“Look, I know how much this whole thing means to you,  _ I do,  _ so  _ I _ decided to get out of your way.”

Barnaby takes his turn to be completely  _ over it,  _ “But you were  _ never  _ in my way-!” 

“If I had said no, if I had told you what Schneider was doing, would you have gone to the first league again? Hm?” And when Barnaby shuts his mouth and looks away as frustrated as ever, “That’s what I thought. Not to mention, you would have ended up  _ fired  _ and there is  _ no way in hell  _ that I’d let that happen to you. I was doing what was best for you.”

Barnaby swings right back into anger. “Best for me? Why didn’t you, I don’t know,  _ ask  _ what would be best for  _ me!? _ I am so  _ sick  _ of other people getting to decide-” 

The balcony doors open, Blue Rose poking her head through, “Hey, uh-” She notices the  _ looks  _ on their faces, “Oh! Um, nevermind. I’ll tell them you’re-  _ yeah.”  _ She quickly shuts the door and blends back into the party. 

“We should probably go back inside…” Kotetsu murmurs, already figuring that this conversation was over. 

But not allowing himself to be interrupted again, “What frustrates me most is why you didn’t fight it more, why you wouldn’t let me fight for you,  _ especially  _ when you got fired. I’m pretty sure this job means more to you than it does me so...you didn’t  _ have  _ to sacrifice yourself. You shouldn’t have had to in the first place.” 

“I thought maybe it was getting to be that time since I’m already up in years. Times are changing, newer generations of heroes are coming in-” 

“Oh, stop giving me that ‘old man’ bullshit! You’re barely middle-aged!” Barnaby exclaims. “You  _ never  _ used to let the fact that you’re older stop you!”

Taken aback, “It’s  _ true! _ I don’t expect to do this forever, no matter how much I want to! My powers are already going, all I have is my physical strength and that soon won’t be enough-  _ You’ve _ already proven you’ll do just fine without me  _ and  _ with someone else! I don’t know why you’re so bent outta shape about it!” 

“You think I did well with Ryan!?” Barnaby’s voice goes up a couple octaves in disbelief at such an assumption. “He was the most lazy, uncaring, _pompous asshole_ I have ever met! He only made me miss you more! I thought I’ve made it crystal clear that _I don’t want_ to do this without _you!_ That’s why I left _and_ came back to doing this in the first place!”

“You did! But…” He lets out a sigh, since they’re now  _ beyond  _ treading the dangerous, emotional territory. It’s enough for him to bring his hands up to fidget with each other a little. “I noticed, way before you even told me, how you were feeling about your job. So, I did what I did and- I mean, most of all, I missed you too and wanted to fix it between us as friends first,”  _ Of course. _ “But you finally looked  _ so alive _ on TV that all I could think was ‘look at him go.’ I was  _ so  _ proud of you. You have no idea.” He glances down at his green bracelet for a second. “That's how I knew I made the right decision. I don’t regret it, Bunny...I’d do it again.” 

And he’s right, Barnaby had _no idea_ that his partner felt that way about everything that happened. But for some reason, he wanted to find something wrong with what he said. Maybe it was to justify how much he wanted Kotetsu to just be a little _selfish_ for once. “So, you’d step down, quit your career that you’ve had for _over_ _a decade,_ your passion in life...for _me?”_

A corner of Kotetsu’s mouth quirks up in a bittersweet smile. “Bunny, I want you to be happy and I see your passion for this whole thing too, doesn’t matter who’s been here longer. So, if that’s without me…” He lets the implication run on its own, because he felt like if he said anymore the mood would be sadder than it already is. “Well,  _ you know.”  _ He mumbles next. 

Barnaby releases a sharp breath, his gaze down at the railing, still not looking pleased by his partner’s answer. “I just…” He shakes his head, deciding to start whatever he was going to say over because the more they talk, the more he struggles to put all of his feelings together. “Please, believe me when I say that I’ll never be happy doing this without you. You’re the reason why I found a love for this.” 

“Aw, Bunny, I didn’t-” 

“Would you stop that!?” Is asked less in irritation and more in desperation. “Why can’t you just believe me?” 

_ That  _ surprises Kotetsu enough into admitting, “I dunno, I…” He looks at the ground and shifts a little since Barnaby has a talent for putting on so uncomfortably on the spot. “I guess maybe I don’t believe in myself like that.” 

He doesn’t notice his partner’s expression soften, until latch onto either side of his arms. “Can we promise each other something?” He doesn’t even wait for Kotetsu to agree. “That we’ll  _ talk.  _ Because what we’re doing right now isn’t working. I want to know if you’re having a rough time or about  _ any  _ issues with our partnership.”

The older man was  _ more  _ than happy to. “Of course! I feel like half of all o’ that shit wouldn’t have happened if I had just  _ said something! _ This past week, I wanted to do nothing but just  _ talk  _ to you but I couldn't get a chance to-” 

The balcony door opens again, Agnes’ head poking through this time. “I’m not surprised to find Tiger out here, but you Barnaby?” She shakes her head in disappointment. “When it’s most convenient for you both,” It’s a shame that her most pleasant tone only came with sarcasm.  _ “Come inside.” _ And to really show that she means it, she closes as loudly as she can without drawing the guests’ attention.

They both flinch slightly-  _ so scary _ when she wanted to be. 

“I think that’s our cue.” Kotetsu breathes in some amusement. “But...we’re good, right?” 

Barnaby nods. “We’re even better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Had this laying around my laptop so why not post it, right? Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
